China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published the approval on its website on Monday, granting Tesla permission to sell its Shanghai-made Model Y in the country.
Tesla built its own Gigafactory (a term used by the company to refer to its gigantic manufacturing plants) in the free-trade zone in Shanghai, China. This made Tesla the first foreign automaker to build its own auto-plant in the country. The company currently produces and sells its Model 3 vehicles in China, which is an all electric sedan and the company’s current most affordable offering.
Tesla was looking to expand it’s current offering in the country by producing and selling the Model Y, which is an all-electric mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV). The company had applied to gain permission to sell its Shanghai-made Model Y in China earlier this month.
Similar to countries trying to actively combat climate change, China also requires its automakers to sell a certain number of electric vehicles every year. The country currently has the world’s largest electric vehicle market, and it is continuing to grow rapidly.
The company headed by Elon Musk, has been trying to fully utilize its manufacturing plant in China. Tesla has already began exporting it’s Shanghai-made vehicles to Europe and has reportedly sold over 13,000 vehicles locally in China in October.
Now, it has gained the approval to start selling yet another model in the country-the Model Y SUV, which will help expand its already well established foothold in the foreign market.
Originally founded in 2003, Tesla has now become one of the biggest automakers in the world, and a leader in the all-electric vehicle market. Tesla has been hitting its production goals, and the company reported a fifth consecutive profitable quarter in October.
The recent increase in the company’s stocks led to Elon Musk overtaking Bill Gates to become the second richest person in the world. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Elon Musk’s current net-worth is $142 billion.
